The Shadow Bender
by Akuma-Chibi
Summary: A new breed of Bending has been discovered, by a young girl of the Water Tribe, and Katara is more than a little Jealous.She strikes a deal with the Fire Nation Princess and the girl is taken from her tribe, given to none other than the Fire Prince Zuko.
1. Little Shadow Weaver

_**The Shadow Bender**_

_**Summary:**__ A new breed of Bending has been discovered, by a young girl of the Water Tribe, and Katara is more than a little Jealous. After traveling with the Avatar, her brother and that annoying, childish, Toph, she felt that she deserved something, and this girl hadn't done anything to earn this bending gift! She strikes a deal with the Fire Nation Princess and the girl is taken from her tribe, given to none other than the Fire Prince Zuko._

_**Anime/Manga:**__ InuYasha/Avatar_

_**Genre: **__Romance/Angst_

_**Couple:**__ Kagome/Zuko_

_**Rated: **__M_

_**Little Shadow Weaver**_

_It's that path that she treads...walking a path unknown to her, but a path none the less. She wasn't where she had been, she wasn't where she was going, but she was on her way...The flash of a firefly guides her way for a single moment, the breath of a billow-snow-buffalo draws her attention from the direction she'd moments ago traveled, the shadow of a penguin-seal captured her eyes and drew her footfalls towards it's way, following the sunset's colorful lightshow or reds, blues and purple that blended with the black of the night sky and the burning amber of the descending sun._

Her sea blue eyes, deep and warm with emotion, followed the moving shadows that raced across the snow covered grounds. Her feet, hidden by the pure blanket of fallen, frozen rain, moved forward as she let her body move with her footfall, her hands pulling back as the shadows of surrounding trees moved with her movements, the trees bending with their shadows, not given a choice in the matter. Her eyes followed ever so carefully, watching with unease and anticipation as the shadows curved and the trees began snapping, forced to bend to her will, as if they were the cause of her hurt, her turmoil.

"Brother..." Her voice weak yet unyielding, "I will kill her!"

**~SNAP~CRASH~**

"I'm sorry...I couldn't save you..." Her eyes fell to the trees that lay broken and useless on the tarnished snow covered ground. The shadows surrounded her as she sunk to her knees before the mess and cried. The secret of her bending had been kept secret from the water tribe's people who had protected, cared for and raised her and her brothers. She'd grown up with Katara and Souka; had watched the two leave on their journey with the Avatar, and had watched their ongoing turmoil fall upon the village she'd called home. Then she had watched as the men had been called into battle and the women paid their time healing the weakened, hurt and pained. She had been learning, but her skills left much to be desired. She was no healer, nor was she a water bender.

"Kagome?"

The girl, _Kagome_, turned at her name, the shadows receding back to the trees in which they came; her eyes caught Katara's grayish blue ones and she watched the slightly older girl walk up to her.

Katara stared at the trees, than her eyes moved back to Kagome, and again to the trees before she gave a loose smile. "Kagome...Gran-Gran wants a wants a word with you; it's about Souta..." Her eyes continuously darted back and forth between Kagome and the trees before her curiosity got the better of her. "Are...are you an Earth bender?"

"...no." Kagome stood and left back to the village with Katara following after her.

"Then what─"

"Nothing, I was doing nothing important. The trees were there when I got there, I just happened to take refuge there. So...where is Aang?" She easily changed the course of her questioning to a subject the girl enjoyed most. Now three years into the war, Katara was seventeen, same as Kagome who was only a few months younger, and Aang was fifteen, as was Toph, a close friend of Kagome's since she'd met her. Souka was eighteen, and his girlfriend, Suki, who Kagome had only met once, was the same age as him. They had, on multiple occasions, mentioned another person, Zuko, whom she hadn't yet met, but could hear the animosity in their tone as they spoke of him.

"Aang is training some with Haru and Toph; he's getting to be a master at earth bending himself now!" Her eyes sparkle a cold breeze lifted their hair around them. "Toph said that after three years of training, all he needs to do is keep sparing and practicing; he knows what she knows, and then some, being that he's the Avatar and all."

Kagome frowned; Katara had picked up a remarkable trait on her journey with the Avatar. It was called bragging. She had become kind of vain and arrogant, which rubbed Kagome the wrong way half the time and caused her to say something stupid, "He's still just a kid, Katara. Being the Avatar makes him our hopeful savior, not some prince." Like that.

"Shut up!" She snapped, "What would you know about prince's! They aren't so great! Their cold, heartless and ruthless! They don't care about others, only their own gain and increase in power, only their own selfish pride and honor! You know nothing!"

Kagome's eyes widened; yeah, this was what she had to deal with, because Kagome couldn't control her tongue which moved faster than her brain, and Katara couldn't control her temper which moved faster than her heart.

"...Aang is a hundred times better than any Prince!" Her hands moved and water followed as it snapped painfully across Kagome's side.

"_**AAH~!"**_Her cry was heard by some passing village children who ran to get an adult or two to stop Katara's temper, which was usually how it happened. However, Kagome had just lost her older brother, her temper matched that of a fire nation general, and she had lost control of it as she lashed out at her long term friend. The shadows seize her movements as Kagome moved her hands and changed the placement of her feet. Katara's eyes widened as the shadows restricted her movements, feet, hands, head...shoot her fingers were even stiff.

"Kagome~! Release her!"

Kagome dropped her, as _Gran-Gran _ instructed. She looked behind her and saw Toph standing with Aang and Haru next to her and Gran-Gran. The four looked curiously at her, though, Toph was already aware of her abilities, she was curious as to why the fight had started, no doubt. "I am so sorry─"

"Save it," Gran-Gran interrupted, "Your younger brother must be discussed."

Kagome bowed her head and followed the woman, well aware of the lingering eyes of Katara. Toph followed quickly after Kagome, not liking the fact that she was going on half-baked guesses, as to where they were going, since she couldn't see all that well on ice. It paid that a small portion of land was connected to the floating iceberg that substituted as a bed for her and Haru who refused to leave her alone there. She took Kagome's hand and they walked silently behind the elder woman before stopping at an igloo. "How is he?"

"Getting worse. The cold will kill him before the end of the month."

"...I lost Bankotsu to this...Azula fire princess...I can't lose Souta to...a cold!"

"...That's why he's being shipped to a safer, warmer, location with our next fleet of Water tribe soldiers."

"WHAT! NO!" Kagome cried out, "If you do that...I..._I may never see him again..._" Her voice grew soft and tears, for the second time that day, fell mercilessly to the cold fluff of ice surrounding her.

"You will be going too."

This caught her attention and she perked up, wiping her tears away with her free hand. "I will?"

"Yes, as well as Katara and Toph. Now, you leave tonight, with the cover of darkness."

"I...I understand," Kagome bowed, "Thank you for helping, both him and myself."

The elder woman nodded, though her eyes held a look of distrust in them from her earlier actions against Katara. Toph must have felt it too as she gave her hand a light squeeze of reassurance before pulling Kagome into the tent where her brother lay bundled up and shivering with beads of sweat on his forehead. Toph let her hand go as Kagome moved to her baby brother's side. His chest heaved as he struggled to breath.

"Toph, where is this fleet going?"

"An island, from what I know. It's centered somewhere between the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation...but I'm not completely sure where it is exactly."

"Lovely..."

**-x-x-x-**

As night was soon covering the iced island, Souta was being carried off towards the ship that they would be leaving on, it was a small boat next to a slightly larger one. She, her brother, and Katara would be taking that one, while Toph led the other with the fleet.

They started sailing once packed and readied, and Kagome could only stare sadly at her brother. She didn't even care to apologize to Katara who faced away from her.

'_It's okay...Souta...soon, soon everything will be okay.'_

Katara glanced coldly behind her before once more facing the front.

"Katara, you may hate me after what happened, and that's fine...just promise me something..."

"What!"

"...if something happens to me...make sure my baby brother will be alright...I...I couldn't take losing anyone else...he's all I have left..." Tears streamed onto the warm blankets that covered her baby brother.

"Fine...I'll make sure that he gets the help he needs...and gets better...if anything happens to you."

**-x-x-x-**

The waves had become hungry in the hours and Kagome could only hold onto the ropes used to hold her brother to the boat. She could see land before them, but hours had past since they'd lost sight of the other ship. She was worried for Toph..."Katara!" She yelled out, catching the girls attention, "We need to get to land! It's too dangerous out here!"

"...your right!" She stood up and using her bending, she maneuvered the ocean around the boat and pushed them safety in the direction of the land.

Kagome smiled only for her smile to turn into a frown at the sight of armored men waiting for them. _'We should be okay...but...it looks like fire nation armor...'_

The boat knocked hard against a rock and Kagome fell forward with the jerk of the boat and hit her head on the edge of the boat. Her eyes became heavy despite the rush of water falling on her and she watched as fire lit lanterns made their way towards them before darkness took her.

**-x-x-x-**

"_Mmm,"_

"Good, you're awake,"

Her sea blue orbs opened and she was met with golden eyes that looked as if they were burning with excitement. _"Who are you...?" _She asked, though, her voice was dry; she wasn't sure how long she'd been out cold. She tried to move her hands but found herself chained to a wall, her hand chained together at the wrists.

"Don't speak, the salt water has dried you out, you need something to drink. As for your question, you stand...sorry...you are _chained_ before the Princess of the Fire Nation. You may call me Princess Azula."

"_..."_ Kagome stared in horror at the girl before her. She looked to be about seventeen, eighteen, with black hair in a bun and her bangs framing her face far past her chin. _'This girl...she's the one...the one who took Bankotsu from me...my brother...she killed him...'_ Her eyes filled with tears at the thought and she fought to get free of the chains that held her captive.

"Don't try and fight the chains, make this easy on both of us and come willingly...I was kind, after all...I let your brother and the water bender go..."

"_...Y-you let...Souta go?"_

"Yes, I did. In fact, I was merely there to pick you up. You didn't think this was all an accident...did you? You ending up here, in the Fire Nation...of course not. The girl...oh, what was her name...Ka...Katara? Yes, Katara, she set up the meeting..."

'_Katara!'_ She thought back, back to the waves, the ever slight movements that Katara would make, though, she hadn't thought anything of it, thinking that she was keeping the boat on course..._'This...is how she's chosen to deal with me...'_ She sighed, _"That girl has gone insane in the extreme..."_

Azula laughed, "Yes, she has. Do you know what she said as we were leaving with you?"

"_...what?"_

"It's the younger sister of that wretch boy you fought with only a while back, make her suffer, knowing that you enjoyed killing her brother." Azula looked at the girl, "On the contrary though, your brother had saved my life...his foolish heart had kept him from killing me...when he knew I was from the Fire Nation. I did kill him...but be aware...it was the first time that I had _ever_ hesitated..." She stepped up and placed her hand on Kagome's cheek, "He told me...that, if I ever came across his younger sister...to take care of you, for him."

"_..."_

"He was unwise to trust me...it led to his death, and even when he knew I would kill him...he asked a favor of me...why would he trust me to care for you..."

"_His heart was his weakness..."_ Kagome struggled, tears streaming her cheeks, her throat hurt, _"I wouldn't be surprised...if he'd fallen in love with you..."_

Azula pulled her hand away as if she'd been burnt, but then laughed. "Try not to talk while you're here. You'll be killed just like him." She walked to a guard and order for the girl to be let down. "You will be taken to my brother, and he will care for you. You are to tend to whatever he may need, emotionally, physically or mentally...I don't care..." She turned to leave but paused as the guard left to retrieve something else she'd requested for the girl. _"I don't do this often..."_ Her voice was soft, a whisper, _"But...I do owe your brother my life...and since I took his...I can at least...save yours. My commitment to your brother...my debt...has been cleared...sleep well tonight...Little Kagome..."_

**-x-x-x-**

**Me: So sue me...I know you must all be tired of my constant updating of new stories, but I'm just getting them posted and off my standby list. Hee~ Please tell me what you think in a review~ Sankyu~ ^_^''**


	2. Sleeping With the Lights On

_**The Shadow Bender**_

_**Summary:** A new breed of Bending has been discovered, by a young girl of the Water Tribe, and Katara is more than a little Jealous. After traveling with the Avatar, her brother and that annoying, childish, Toph, she felt that she deserved something, and this girl hadn't done anything to earn this bending gift! She strikes a deal with the Fire Nation Princess and the girl is taken from her tribe, given to none other than the Fire Prince Zuko._

_**Anime/Manga:** InuYasha/Avatar_

_**Genre:**Romance/Angst_

_**Couple:** Kagome/Zuko_

_**Rated:**M_

_**Sleeping with the Lights On**_

She hadn't known what she should expect, having basically been told that she was to serve the Fire Nation Prince, who she knew to be Zuko. She had never heard good things about the teen while in the Water Tribe, so she wasn't really expecting roses and chocolate.

"Is this the Fire Nation Palace?" Kagome asked, unsure if this was in fact the residence of the great Fire Lord himself, or if his kids had their own dwelling place.

"..." She was met with no reply.

"Right, I forget, when taken captive, you rarely find someone to hold civil conversation with."

"..."

"Nothing? That got absolutely nothing out of you guys?"

"..."

Kagome sighed, "This is going to be fun..." Sarcasm dripped from her words as the guards led her down a dimly lit hall to another room, much nicer than the dungeon like room she'd just been taken from. She glanced around and took in her surroundings as a guard tossed her to the floor at the foot of a bed. It was currently unoccupied, by the looks of it, but that didn't necessarily mean anything. She let her mind wander back to Azula as the door behind her slammed shut, leaving her alone in the dark of the shadows, with chains holding her hands tightly together. _'__I do owe your brother my life...and since I took his...I can at least...save yours. My commitment to your brother...my debt...has been cleared...sleep well tonight...Little Kagome...__'_ She scoffed, "What sleep am I going to get tonight!"

She stood up, her feet weren't chained, but she was sure the guards on the other side of the door, yes, she knew they were there, would be plenty enough to stop her from leaving, so it didn't matter if her feet were free. She couldn't Shadow Bend with just her feet, so it wouldn't have helped her out much anyways. She walked to the side of the bed, she figured it was the fire prince's bed, but honestly, she didn't care, she was tired, and he was absent from his bed chambers.

"_I'm sure he won't mind...too much..."_ She whispered, lying down on the bed uncomfortably, trying to find a position with the chains and cuffs that didn't cause her too much pain. Finally, she gave up, she was too tired to fight with steal, she just let her head drop back onto a soft pillow, and her eyes fell shut. Darkness took her in to its familiar warmth, where she took to training in the depths of her mind. She was safe here...for now...

**-x-x-x-**

"Azula!"

Golden eyes glanced up and a bored smile entertained her lips, "Hello Zuzu, how are you today? Beautiful whether we're having, isn't it?"

_Zuzu_ looked out of the doors he'd just walked in from, rain pelting the windows, beating relentlessly at anyone foolish enough to walk out into it. "Yeah...beautiful...and I've told you not to call me that!"

She rolled her eyes, "I'm so sorry, you know how easily I forget these things. What is it you need, _Zuko_?"

Zuko stepped up a little closer to the seat Azula was in, "I don't _need_ anything, I _want _to know why there is a girl who I've never seen before, asleep in my room!"

"What? A girl?!" She acted surprised, "What silliness, what is this rubbish you are on about? Dear brother, I think you have been dipping in the cactus juice a bit much, must you stay out these long hours and dream up women in your bed?"

"I didn't dream her up, and I have never drunk Cactus Juice!"

She raised a brow, of course, she knew that was true, but still. "Show me this girl, Zuzu," She said, walking up to her brother, placing an arm around his as she did. "Let us see if this girl is real," She glanced at one of her personal guards, a Dai Li soldier, one of many who had followed her back from Ba Sing Se so long ago. He disappeared, and she knew where he was off to, as she and her brother made way through the halls to his bed chambers.

**-x-x-x-**

Kagome had felt the arms around her waist before she'd even been lifted from the bed. She opened her eyes a little and saw the bright shades of green from Earth Kingdom and immediately, she thought of Toph and Haru. _"Toph?"_

"_...shhh~"_

'_No...not Toph, Toph is too small, she wouldn't be able to lift me this high off the ground by herself, must be a traitor, someone working for Azula...'_ She listened as the door opened and the person holding her jumped up high and hid in the darkness of the room.

"Oh Zuzu, it's as I said, no one is here; you must be so tired...sleep..."

Kagome heard her voice clearly, but she too was tired, she curled up in the safe hold if the Earth Warrior who held her and fell back to sleep. However, in the back of her mind, she knew it was more than just being tired, it was Azula; there was something in her voice that could naturally loll you to sleep.

**-x-x-x-**

"I swear someone was in my bed!"

She laughed, "I'm sure that was just your imagination, it's been many months since you and Mai separated, it must be pent of vigor, just sleep it off, everything will be fine, I'm sure."

Zuko sighed, "Right, whatever." Zuko watched his sister leave his room before removing his armor, giving his room a quick once over, he lay down and did as his sister had told him to. He hadn't been sleeping well lately; he had been given the chance years ago, to help Aang, and had chosen not to. His fear of not being accepted had kept him from helping...he knew Aang needed a fire bending master, but...here he was.

As soon as his eyes fell shut, a shadowed figure dressed in green appeared next to the Fire Prince's bed and laid the young girl in his bed. The Princess Azula had such a wicked since of humor, to place a soon to be service girl in his bed while he slept, leaving him none the wiser of what the night had laid before him, or what his morning would be like.

**-x-x-x-**

Azula made her way back to her room, but didn't go to sleep. Sitting at her window, she stared out at the ocean that surrounded the Fire Nation. It was beautiful, really beautiful. It had been beautiful when he'd been standing before it too, more so than now...now, while it was still beautiful, it did nothing for her but hurt her to look at it. She did though, she always looked out at the water, knowing full well that had it not been for her, the ocean would still be sparkling in her eyes.

She felt a tear fall from her eye and scoffed, giving a pitiful attempt at a laugh to hide her heartbreak. She wasn't used to this feeling, and she didn't like it.

The girls words continued to echo in her ears...

_His heart was his weakness..._

"..." Azula closed her eyes, her own hands clenched tightly at her side.

_I wouldn't be surprised…_

Tears started to fall relentlessly from her eyes to the floor.

_...if he'd fallen in love with you..._

"How was I supposed to know...Who falls in love with someone after a first meeting!" Her eyes widened, _"...oh god..."_ falling to her knees, fire sparked dangerously around her as she cried at sudden heartbreaking realization, _'I did...I fell in love...with a glance I fell in love! Stupid Azula...why, why did you kill him...why did I kill him...WHY!?'_

_...I wouldn't be surprised..._

_...if he'd..._

_...Fallen in Love..._

_**~With You~**_

**-x-x-x-**

**Me: Here is Chapter Two, tell me what you guys think and I will update quicker now that I'm back in my Writers Groove!**


	3. Surprises!

_**The Shadow Bender**_

_**Summary:**__A new breed of Bending has been discovered, by a young girl of the Water Tribe, and Katara is more than a little Jealous. After traveling with the Avatar, her brother and that annoying, childish, Toph, she felt that she deserved something, and this girl hadn't done anything to earn this bending gift! She strikes a deal with the Fire Nation Princess and the girl is taken from her tribe, given to none other than the Fire Prince Zuko._

_**Anime/Manga:**__InuYasha/Avatar_

_**Genre:**____Romance/Angst_

_**Couple:**__Kagome/Zuko_

_**Rated:**____M_

_**Surprises~!**_

_It's that path that she treads...walking a path unknown to her, but a path none the less. She wasn't where she had been, she wasn't where she was going, but she was on her way...The flash of a firefly guides her way for a single moment, the breath of a billow-snow-buffalo draws her attention from the direction she'd moments ago traveled, the shadow of a penguin-seal captured her eyes and drew her footfalls towards it's way, following the sunset's colorful lightshow or reds, blues and purple that blended with the black of the night sky and the burning amber of the descending sun._

'_I remember a voice...' blue eyes danced sadly as they gazed up at the empty sky, void of a moon or any stars that may have at one time accompanied it. 'It would sing to me at night...and tell me stories in the late evenings of the day.'_

_The mourning of the wind pulled her eyes away from the sky and to the vast sea, still in movement, silent in sound. 'I recall warm and happy blue eyes,'_

_Stepping forward, placing a foot on the motionless sea before her, she frowned as her foot merely floated on the surface of the sea, taking a few more steps forward; she was not graced with the feel of the cool water against her skin. 'They would watch over me in the silence of the night, and try to find me in the light of the day when we would play.'_

_Turning from the dead sea, those lonely blue eyes gazed at where she had once been standing, the ground empty, land desolate, and air stale. 'What I remember most though, is the hand which had once held mine...'_

_Tears fell from her eyes, though she could not feel the wetness of her tears, she felt the hurt of her heart, and touching her fingers to her cheek, she could see the shine of her tears against her fingers. 'I remember holding it, both hands would keep me safe, they would warm me in the cold chill of the air, and provide the love and care which a little girl needed...but then...those hands were taken from me...'_

_The area around her lit up with flames, fire was burning brightly on all sides and at every corner. There was no spot left un-singed by the flames which had taken her brother's life. And as she lifted her eyes, the flames began to part, and a figure could be made out, stepping between the parting fires, a figure who Kagome matched a name with a face. "Azula..."_

**-x-x-x-**

Kagome jolted awake, there were shadows crawling up the walls of the bedchamber she slept in, and the blanket wrapped warmly around her made her feel safe, despite her location and who she shared her living quarters with. _'Princess Azula...the Fire Nation Princess...her crazy father is off trying to take control of the other nations, and has left the Fire Nation to his son and daughter. Why? Because he is no longer the lord of the fire nation, he is...bum bum bum...the Phoenix King, or something like that.'_ Kagome sighed, she made to sit up, but a heavy weight around her waist kept her firmly in place. She moved her hands to the blanket and pulled it down, a hand was on the bed in front of her, and an arm was draped over her.

It took her a moment to process what it was that was weighing her down, but when she did...

"_**AHHHHHHHHH~!"**_

The owner of said arm tumbled, stumbled, tripped and yelled as he fell made his way out of the bed. She was sitting up in the bed, still tied up, though the ropes were much loser with sleep and her moving around in the night playing with her bindings and loosening them while she slept. She looked scared, like a turtlebear with a fire nation soldier zeroing in for the kill.

"WHAT THE HELL!"

Kagome cowered back against the headboard of the bed, trying her best to become invisible as she sank lower into the blankets and attempted obscuring herself from his view.

"Who are you!?"

She said nothing, for the first time since she had come here, and been taken prisoner, she was deathly terrified. Her eyes were sealed shut, and the blanket mostly concealed her from him, but when he took the blanket in his grasp and pulled it roughly from her already trembling form, she could only watch nervously as it fell pathetically to the floor. The room was now brightly lit with fire, and as she turned her eyes to the guy who she'd moments ago been sharing a bed with, her eyes widened as they were met with a burning fire that told her of what dangers awaited her if she should upset him.

"ANSWER ME!"

She jumped and scrambled backwards, trying to become one with the bed and disappear, but to no avail. "...K-Kagome!"

He breathed in and the fire in his eyes started to calm to a simmer, "...why are you in my bed chambers? Do you know whose chambers these are!? Who I am?"

"...You are Prince Zuko..." she became slightly more confidant with her words when she realized he wasn't going to kill her, as he soon became more interested in getting a shirt on or locating a robe to wear. "I am here under Princess Azula's orders..."

Zuko stopped his searching and turned wide eyes to Kagome, "Azula?"

Kagome sighed, relaxing against the headboard only slightly as she did, "Yeah, she...she said..." Kagome closed her eyes, recalling the day before as clearly as possible, "I am to tend to whatever you may need; um...emotionally, physically, or mentally...she doesn't care. She said, I belong to you, and that you will care for me..."

"She...didn't kill you?" He frowned, it wasn't like his sister to let anyone not of their family, nation or close knit circle, live...and Kagome knew that.

"She killed my brother...and regretted it. I don't forgive her, and can't see light to the situation itself, but I think this is her way of trying to make amends...she told me, she owed my brother...her life...and that, since she took his, the least she could do, was save mine." Kagome sighed, "However, her commitment to my brother, her debt, as she put it, has been cleared..."

Zuko looked truly lost, and completely out of it. He sat down on a stool a little ways away from his bed, and sighed. "Joy, more inconveniences."

She had no idea what inconveniences he had to deal with, but being dealt in the same hand as those was not something Kagome took kindly to, and she would let that none, as soon as she could free herself of her bindings...

**-x-x-x-**

**Me: Hope you all enjoyed!**** Me: Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I know it's been awhile since I last updated and I'm sorry about that, but with hope, things will change and updates will come out a little faster than previously!**

**I'll be starting lists from now on, posting them at the end of each chapter, so you'll know what has been both updated, and next to be updated.**

**LIST**

**Rated M For Manicure – X**

**A Moment In Time – X**

**The Last to Know – X**

**Shine on Me – X**

**The Girl You Left Behind – X**

**Accidentally In Love – X**

**Stay Alive – X**

**I Am Shades of Life – X**

**The Shadow Bender – X**

**I Say Yes – ...guess I'm starting Chapter...Ch3**

**My Dirty Little Secret – I'm staring at it…=.=**

**Me: The list will be made by Yuki subsequently, once I finish the last story on the list. Please Review, and let me know what you think. If there is anything specific that you want on the list, talk to YukimuraShuusukeGirl, I have no say in it!**


	4. Untied

_**The Shadow Bender**_

_**Summary:**__A new breed of Bending has been discovered, by a young girl of the Water Tribe, and Katara is more than a little Jealous. After traveling with the Avatar, her brother and that annoying, childish, Toph, she felt that she deserved something, and this girl hadn't done anything to earn this bending gift! She strikes a deal with the Fire Nation Princess and the girl is taken from her tribe, given to none other than the Fire Prince Zuko._

_**Anime/Manga:**__InuYasha/Avatar_

_**Genre:**__Romance/Angst_

_**Couple:**__Kagome/Zuko_

_**Rated:**__M_

_**Untied~!**_

'_Kagome Higurashi...that's my name...I was taken in by Katara's grandmother, who cared for me and my brothers...' _Kagome stared at the back of her _Prince_ and frowned, _'I am a Shadow Bender...I was raised by the Water Tribe villagers, and because Bankotsu told me to keep it hidden...my rare bending...I did.' _She fingered the rope around her wrists and helped it loosen as she tried to free herself of her imprisonment. _'I wasn't careful and as a result...as a result...I...revealed to Katara what should have never been seen...especially...by her.'_

"Shit...something like this is really happening."

She watched the fire prince before her sulk as he sat down on his bed, his head held in his hands in thought. "What do you mean?"

He shook his head and turned his eyes to her, looking her over carefully, he sighed, "Turn around."

Kagome didn't want to do as he said, he was cocky enough, and she knew listening would no doubt raise his ego and thoughts of control over her. She wasn't easily controlled, she was happy that she was headstrong, it's made her the girl that she is today, and she would be damned if some pyromaniac's cocky son turned her into a little...well, for a lack of better words, a slave...

Yet, she still followed his orders, turning away from him, she listened as he stood and made his way to her side. His footsteps were surprisingly light, but she guessed it was because of his lack of armor. Not wearing anything heavy, and donning only the silk robes of his sleepwear, he was almost nonexistent with his steps. "Hold still,"

She did as told, still, she hated every second of it. What was he going to do to her; honestly, he hadn't come off as the type to actually do smoothing dishonorable to her.

She felt something cold against her wrist, and then felt a slight tug, the sound of something being cut, and the feel of the ropes falling from her wrists is what graced her shocked mind once she realized what it was exactly that he was doing to her. _'...the...bindings!? Is he so stupid?! Does he think I won't attack him! I WILL! I have to get out of here, and no amount of chivalry will keep me here!'_

"You shouldn't be here...I'm sorry for this."

She didn't want to hear this. He was the bag guy, the one who Aang and the others hated. He was the reason everyone was so fearful of the Fire Nation. Him and his sister, so why was he apologizing!? "Why are you apologizing!? Are you going to kill me? Torture me, or..."

He looked at her, waiting for her to continue, he knew where she was going with the conversation, "I won't do anything to you, I don't care about that kind of stuff."

Her eyes widened, "A-Aang said...that..." she shook her head, "No, you're nothing like what they said...are you?"

Zuko shrugged, "I can't really say; what did they tell you?"

"...they...said you were...inhuman. I couldn't possibly repeat everything, especially in one sitting."

He scoffed, "It's probably exaggerated, but the baseline is probably right."

Kagome shook her head, standing carefully, she looked at her wrists and smiled sadly, "No, you are nothing like the horrible things they have said. I knew you weren't as bad as they were making you out to be, Toph told me that your heart always seemed to be in turmoil. She said that it was like you were forcing yourself most of the time, and when you weren't forcing yourself, you were loathing the things you were doing. Toph told me Katara hated you only because you kept getting in Aang's way...stopping him from saving the world and what not."

He looked down at the floor and walked back to his bed where he sat down and sighed. "I want to help him..."

Kagome felt her eyes widen.

"I want to...I just...can't. If I went there, I'd be attacked, and I naturally defend myself, then it turns into an all-out war. I can only stay here and watch as they try to fight off my father."

Shaking her head, Kagome moved to stand in front of him, dropping down before him on her knees, she looked into his eyes, he looked away, and she turned his face back to meet his eyes with hers. "You could...if you weren't so afraid."

"...your pretty brave with your hands untied, I am still the Prince of the Fire Nation, and you are walking through fire."

Kagome smirked, "I'm very brave when my hands are not bound."

He returned her smirk with his own, "There's no water in here, little water tribe girl."

"...I'm not a water bender..." She stepped back and in a fluid motion, he was flipped backwards onto the bed where he looked at her shocked and angrily. She started to laugh, her hands moving to her lips at the surprise she'd caused. Moving forward, she sat down at the end of his bed, "Why do you think Katara turned traitor on me and gave me to your sister? I could do what no one else could, and...so...here I am."

"What is it, your bending...he forced himself to not yell, still a bit peeved at what she'd done."

"...I'm...a Shadow Bender..."

**-x-x-x-**

**Me: Review, and I'll update again soon!**


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